RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AS AN ENHANCED PLATFORM FOR ACCELERATED 2YC UNDERGRADUATE DEVELOPMENT

Research Opportunities for Community College Students (ROCCS) is a first of its kind REU program, conducted during the Summer of 2017 by the Geoscience Department at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and in partnership with El Paso Community College Geology faculty, with National Science Foundation funding. The ROCCS program provides applied research experience for 2-year college (2YC) students that are typically excluded from research experiences and/or resources. UTEP provides the research setting, guidance, and resources with additional faculty support from EPCC. Imbedded cohort mentoring by senior-level, UTEP undergraduates, provides program assistance and enhanced developmental guidance for the 2YC participants, while also providing a unique mentoring experience for the UTEP cohorts. ROCCS engages 2YC participants with a regional geologic overview coupled with synchronous, multi-faceted research applications, consequently accelerating and enhancing participant geological development. Simultaneously, participants are introduced to multiple discipline facets for facilitating academic and career pathway selection. The ROCCS experience individually culminates at minimum into an AGU virtual poster, with the potential to expand to additional conference presentations and/or collaborative research publications.